What to do in Johannesburg : Tips, places, hotels and restaurants

A South African city, Johannesburg has a little more than 700,000 inhabitants. It experienced a period of rapid growth at the end of the 19th Century mainly due to the discovery of gold on the site but however nowadays is experiencing a period of change and insecurity. The transformation of the city centre into a touristic zone is an attempt to resolve its problems. It is strongly recommended not to stroll alone in the centre to admire the Art Deco style buildings, tourists generally prefer to remain in the calmer quarters on the outskirts of the city such as Sandton and Randburg. You may wish to visit the Apartheid Museum, the Gold Reef City theme park which will allow you to explore the inside of a gold mine, the Mandela House Museum at Soweto, the Hector Petersen Memorial Monument and the Waletre Sisulu Botanical Gardens. The city also constitutes an excellent departure point for visiting Pretoria, the capital. Despite the fact that Johannesburg is not particularly favourable for tourism you can experience its unique and vivacious atmosphere by visiting the quarter of Hillbrow, the old city market or the Mai-Mai African Bazaar with its many traditional vendors of local African cultural items. Do not hesitate to take the hour’s drive out of the city that will take you to Sterkfontein Valley, a world heritage site listed by UNESCO.

Request a local expert to customise your tailor-made tour

Hand-picked local travel agencies in over 80 destinations | Local expertise at local prices | ABTA-bonded